20 Garden Edging Ideas for Lawn Borders

The best-dressed landscapes feature finished edges and clean borders. Find new ways to create stylish perimeters between your flower beds and your lawn.

By: Julie Martens Forney

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Give Beds An Edge

Keeping lawn edges neat along planting beds, paths and driveways doesn't have to be a time-consuming nightmare. With proper lawn edging, you can elevate the look of your yard by defining its border lines. Edging also makes garden beds look professional and polished. Lawn edging comes in a variety of materials and at a range of price points. Flexible steel edging (shown here) scores as a top-of-the-line treatment that boasts durability and good looks. It's maintenance free, and you can mow over it without damage.

Read on for more garden edging ideas.

Learn More : How to Install Garden Edging

Pound-In Edging

Durable and easy to use, pound-in edging provides a quick solution for edging a lawn. Simply use a rubber mallet to pound individual pieces into place. With this edging, you don't have to cut sod, except in the hardest clay soil. Pound-in edging features a polyethylene (plastic) construction, which means it holds up for years. Lawn edging usually comes in different depths. Shallower edging works well when you have hard clay soils or want an edge that’s flush with surrounding lawn. For deep weed protection, an 8" depth works well. Choose deeper edging (up to 12") for loose, sandy soil.

Mixed Landscape Rock Edgings

For a more organic edging, look to stones. Light colored river rocks create a striking edge between a lawn and planting beds. When using river rock for edging, you'll need to monitor for weeds or grass creeping into beds. To reduce weeds or grass, hand pull or spray. Placing weed fabric under stones can help suppress grass, but it may break through eventually.

Stone Edging

Another option for stones as lawn edging is to use large field stones. With this type of rock, you can source material locally and, depending on where you live, from natural areas. If you're building a home or excavating a site on your property, save rocks you unearth to use as possible edging. When using rocks as edging, fit stones as close together as you can to limit weed and grass growth. Use a product like Preen between and behind rocks to help prevent weed from sprouting.

Concrete Edger Stones

One of the fastest ways to drop an edge between lawn and planting areas is using concrete edger or paver stones set upright, on edge. Cast from concrete, these stones create the most effective edging if they're dug into the soil so the base sits slightly below lawn level. Keep an eye out for grass creeping around or under concrete edgers. Hand pull or spot spray with grass killer. Look for concrete edgers in a variety of shapes and colors. They give a garden a more formal flair, which looks nice whether it's lining beds full of flowers, herbs or vegetables.

Mixed Stones Edging

If you're an avid rock collector, you can put your collection to good use as a lawn edging along flower beds. With this type of lawn edging, use any size stones, arranging them to create a visual tapestry of color and texture. Many gardeners who opt for a mixed stone edging rely on a spritz of grass killer to keep turf from growing around and between rocks. It creates a look like this at first, with the grass being straw colored and dead. After the grass dies, it breaks down, and the rocks take the spotlight.

Galvanized Lawn Edging

Galvanized steel offers a virtually indestructible option for edging lawn and planting beds. This type of edging comes in straight sections, which you fit together to create a seamless look. The steel is thin enough that you can easily bend it to swoop around bed corners. After installation, the finished look is professional. To install, first moisten soil before slicing sod with a spade or edging tool. Use a rubber mallet to pound the edging into place.

Tree Ring Steel Edging

Consider using steel edging to give trees the royal treatment. Instead of creating an informal tree ring using mulch, install steel edging for a durable edge that doesn't need refreshing on an ongoing basis (like plain mulch does). Steel edging is flexible enough to form a circle around a tree, and it slips into soil relatively easily. Simply tap into place using a rubber mallet. The finished edge provides an eye-catching addition to your home landscape.

Iron Fence Edging

Powder-coated steel elevates edging to an art form when it takes the shape of a low fence. The design for this edging comes from Shakespeare's garden in Stratford, England. These hoop stakes mark bed and path edges while also pulling double duty as plant supports. To draft hoops as edging, place them side by side or slightly overlapping along planting beds or paths. Hoop stake edging is the perfect choice for keeping annuals or perennials from falling over onto lawn or walkways.

Coco Fiber Edging

If string trimming along lawn edges is your least favorite chore, consider installing an edging you can drive over with the lawnmower. Coco fiber edging is made of fibers from coconut hulls. This fiber is also known as coir. In this lawn edging, coir is blended with natural latex rubber to form a durable, long-lasting edging that's water and air permeable. It looks good enough to stand alone, but you can also cover it with traditional bark mulch if you prefer that look. Anchor it in place using landscape staples.

Digging Edge on Flower Bed

To create a classic edge along planting beds, use a half-moon edger tool. Simply drive the tool straight into the lawn, and then work the handle back and forth to loosen and remove turf. If it's your first time edging a bed, follow each cut through lawn with a slice into the edge of the planting bed, inserting the edger at an angle to create a slope on the bed.

Trench Edge on Flower Bed

When digging a fresh edge on planting beds, excavate all loose soil, stones and bits of grass. Use turf slices to patch bare spots in your lawn. To make edging easier, sharpen the half-moon edger with a file so it has a fresh, sharp edge. Plan your edging following rain, because slicing into the soil is easier when it’s wet. When you're done edging, clean the edging tool, sharpen it, and apply a light coat of oil (a quick spray with an aerosol penetrating oil works well).

Flower Bed With Trench Edging

Finish this type of trench edging by covering the area with some type of mulch. A mulch layer helps keep weeds from sprouting in the uncovered soil and prevents soil erosion from the planting bed itself. If your trench area is shallow, you can run your lawnmower along the bed edge by dropping one wheel into the trench. This eliminates any need for string trimming the lawn edge.

Landscape Timber Bed Edging

Turn to landscape timbers for an easy DIY lawn edging that keeps grass from invading planting areas. To install, you'll need to dig down a few inches to create a stable footing for the timbers. To help timbers last longer, it's a good idea to add a layer of landscape fabric topped with gravel between the timber and soil. Nestle timbers into the soil as deeply as you want, but try to keep them raised at least a few inches to create a grass-proof barrier. Use a wider timber (6" minimum) if you're stacking timbers and want them to serve as seating.

Recycled Rubber Edging

Skip digging by opting for easy stomp-in edging. This lawn edging is rubber, made from recycled car and truck tires. The top of each block mimics the look of natural stone, while the underside is open. Inside each block (visible from underneath) are rubber stoppers, which prevent you from sinking blocks too far into the soil. Arrange blocks along your edge area before stomping them into place. It's a good idea to wet soil before installation, or simply wait to install after rain. Rubber construction ensures this lawn edging will last a long time.

Crisp Brick Edging

Brick edging helps keep the lawn out of flower beds and flows with the curves of your garden. Brick edging also maintains a low profile when bricks are installed level with your lawn for easier mowing.

Mix of Paver Stone and River Rock Edging

This rain garden features tufts of blue fescue that bring a steely hue and blend beautifully with variegated green and gold sedges. A formal paver stone edging gives the garden a formal look that combines nicely with the addition of river rock to complement this rain garden's water-related theme.

Elegant Bluestone Edging

Minimal hardscaping can be used to define an area with maximum visual impact. For this brownstone garden, a bluestone border delineates the formal lawn, which serves as a transition space within the landscape. Carefully manicured flower beds accent the borders.

Path Combined With Stone Edging

This clever stepping stone path beside a backyard flower garden of colorful flowers allows visitors to walk in the garden space and provides an additional border accent to the stone edging.

Brick and Rock Edge Mix

Try combinations of pebbles/slate chips/river rock and other materials with brick or stone edging to inhibit weeds and add to your edging design game.

20 Garden Edging Ideas for Lawn Borders

Related To:

Shop This Look

Give Beds An Edge

Pound-In Edging

Mixed Landscape Rock Edgings

Stone Edging

Concrete Edger Stones

Mixed Stones Edging

Galvanized Lawn Edging

Tree Ring Steel Edging

Iron Fence Edging

Coco Fiber Edging

Digging Edge on Flower Bed

Trench Edge on Flower Bed

Flower Bed With Trench Edging

Landscape Timber Bed Edging

Recycled Rubber Edging

Crisp Brick Edging

Mix of Paver Stone and River Rock Edging

Elegant Bluestone Edging

Path Combined With Stone Edging

Brick and Rock Edge Mix

The Best Lawn and Garden Edging Products

Garden Edging Ideas to Prevent Weeds and Grass in Flower Beds

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